Recently, Japanese corporation Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group inked an agreement with Singapore-based Fullerton Financial Services Holdings to buy its non-banking arm Fullerton India Credit Company in a reported $2.5-billion deal. Fullerton Financial Services is a fully owned subsidiary of Singaporean investment giant Temasek Holdings.

The Japanese acquirer did not disclose the deal value in the public statement, but market sources said Sumitomo will pay around $2 billion for the 74.9 percent stake it is buying in the first leg of the two-legged deal, and another $500 million-plus for the remaining stake to take the ownership to 100 percent.

It started India operations in 2007 and has since grown across 600 towns and over 58,000 villages with 629 branches and employs over 13,000 and serves 2.3 million retail and small business borrowers.

The two-legged deal involves Sumitomo buying 74.9 percent in the Mumbai-based Fullerton India Credit Company subject to regulatory approvals and later the remaining stake.

Sumitomo, states, “The acquisition will help it participate in India’s long-term growth story on one hand and on the other hand help it strengthen its digital reach across Asia.”

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc today entered into an agreement with Fullerton Financial Holdings of Singapore to acquire a 74.9 percent stake in Fullerton India Credit Company, subject to regulatory approvals. Sumitomo will eventually acquire 100 percent of Fullerton Credit, the Japanese giant and Singaporean owners said.

“We expect the deal to help strengthen our medium-term objective of widening our digital reach in Asia as envisaged in our three-year business plan beginning FY2020,” said, Jun Ohta, president & group chief executive of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.